Market Report 24.04.2026

What happened this week

The past reporting week was once again very quiet. After the already subdued tone of the previous weeks, market activity remained at a very low level. However, this calm should not be confused with stability in a positive sense. It is rather a cautious and in some areas almost paralysed market environment in which most participants continue to operate, but are hardly willing or able to make broader decisions for the weeks and months ahead. The dominant topic in almost all conversations remained the situation around the Persian Gulf and its wider consequences for energy supply, raw material markets, logistics and general planning security. Oil prices and the question of reliable energy availability remain central for many sectors. Several other raw materials are also directly or indirectly affected by the same uncertainty. For our industry, fertilizers and, further down the chain, components for tannery chemicals are particularly relevant examples. Many production companies currently see themselves as unable to make reliable plans for the near or medium-term future. As a result, most companies are concentrating almost exclusively on current production and confirmed orders already on hand. Anything beyond that is either postponed or discussed only with great caution. For the trade in hides and skins, this overall situation meant that sales were again reduced to the absolute minimum during the past week. There was still no sign of a genuine recovery. Where business was concluded, it was mostly limited to quantities needed at short notice for existing production. Larger contracts, speculative purchases or deliberate stockbuilding were hardly visible. Buyers remain cautious and continue to point to the weak order situation in downstream industries. Sellers, on the other hand, are interested in moving hides, but they are also not under immediate pressure to make larger concessions, as the kill remains reduced and the available supply is therefore not increasing to a degree that would force stronger price pressure yet. This creates a market that is weak, but not yet breaking down. The balance is fragile and based less on healthy demand than on a combination of weak supply, cautious buyers and a certain price discipline on the sellers’ side. Reduced slaughter is helping to keep concerns about the absorption of hides under control. As it stands, weak demand and limited supply are meeting each other, keeping prices largely in a sideways movement. Asian markets also failed to provide stronger impulses this week. China, as the main reference point, showed no particular activity. Buyers there remained cautious and no larger wave of fresh demand was visible. Part of this certainly has to do with the extended holiday period ahead next week. Many companies are already preparing for this and are therefore even less inclined to make decisions. However, the weak order situation in many segments also plays an important role. When end demand is missing or difficult to assess, tanneries have little reason to build larger raw material positions. Before holidays, this reluctance is usually reinforced, as companies want to avoid additional stock and price risks. The development in splits is also being watched closely. Prices in this area remain under pressure in China, and this is beginning to affect the overall calculation of tanneries. At present this is becoming increasingly difficult, as several sales channels are under pressure at the same time. A weak split market therefore reduces the willingness of tanneries to accept higher prices for raw material and adds to the buyers’ resistance. From Europe, too, there were no signals pointing to a quick improvement. The furniture fair in Milan brought mixed messages. On the one hand, some participants reported a stronger presence of leather, and in certain presentations leather was clearly visible as a high-quality and emotionally attractive material. On the other hand, particularly for the European market, there were reports of significantly lower sales over all and of leather furniture in particular. Against this background, larger orders or a noticeable improvement in production levels should not be expected for the coming summer months. These months are seasonally weaker in any case, and this year the starting point is already unsatisfactory. The automotive sector did not provide clear positive signals either. The large auto show in Shanghai attracted attention, and many new models were presented, especially in the field of electric vehicles and for the Chinese taste which might become global. For the leather industry, however, the key question is whether this model activity is leading to a higher leather content in interiors. There were no convincing signs of that. It was not really possible to identify a broader trend towards more leather in vehicle interiors. On the contrary, alternative materials, synthetic surfaces and cost-optimized specifications remain important in many segments. High-quality leather interiors are still relevant in certain premium areas, but this does not yet create a broad recovery in demand for the industry as a whole. Overall, the picture is very consistent: end markets are sending hardly any expansionary signals, processors remain cautious, and raw material trading is limited to what is necessary. The few sales that take place are mostly concluded on an unchanged price basis. Any changes are marginal and usually result from currency movements, freight costs or individual quality adjustments rather than from a genuine reassessment of the market. Prices therefore remain less a reflection of active demand than of the fact that neither buyers nor sellers are prepared to move away from their respective price expectations. Suppliers see little reason for larger concessions while the kill reduced and no forcing supply surplus is building up. Customers, however, see no reason to accept higher prices in view of weak demand, uncertain calculations and pressure on by-product markets.